Big Lead Sports Bar

4/27/2008

THE TRASH TALKER COMETH

BRUCE DAVIS

DE/LB - UCLA

Height: 6-3 Weight: 252 40-Time: 4.72

College Coach: Karl Dorrell

The Steelers go defense in round three, selecting highly-regarded UCLA Bruin DE Bruce Davis with their first Sunday pick. Davis was a defensive end in college but will make the transition to linebacker just because Mike Tomlin asked him nicely. He's also sure to be a fan favorite for no other reason than the fact that he's annoyed by ESPN nearly as much as you are.

Notes on Davis:

--Ranks 2nd in UCLA history with 29 sacks

--2007 All-American second-team by NFL Draft Report and Walter Camp

--2006 All-American first-team by Sports Illustrated and College Football News

--Davis father, Bruce Sr., was a two-time Super Bowl champion in a career spanning from 1979-1989. He played O-tackle for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers.

Thoughts?Davis looks like he'll fit right in. Scouting reports say that he's got a quick first step and is very difficult to block; on the downside, word is that he needs to get into the weight room and needs to work on dropping into coverage. He obviously plays (and talks) with a chip on his shoulder and he's from NFL pedigree. Looks like a bit of a minor project but could be a solid contributor in the near future.

1 comment:

They missed Joey Porter. Not so much on the field as off. Davis seems like a sanitized version of Porter, and I'm sure that was what brought him to the Burgh ahead of a couple more highly rated 3-4 conversion types. Like Sweed in the previous round, Davis gets high character marks, and will do wonders in the dressing room. His production was right up there with LaMarr Woodley from last season as a senior.